Inside diameter adjustable flat straw

ABSTRACT

An inside diameter adjustable straw flat straw includes a rectangular-shaped main body having front and back surfaces; a first engagement member, which is formed on the front surface of the main body and which is formed in a convex shape being extended from one end of the main body to the opposite end thereof; a second engagement member, which is formed on the back surface, which is formed in a concave shape, and which is formed parallel to the first engagement member; and a third engagement member, which is formed on the back surface, which is formed in a concave shape, and which is formed parallel to the second engagement member at a predetermined distance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention has been made by the members of MIMURA Seminar College ofLaw, Nihon Univ. as a team. The present invention relates to a food anddrink apparatus, and more particularly to an environmentally friendlyinside diameter adjustable straw, having a convex member on its frontsurface and concave member on its back surface.

2. Description of the related arts

Conventional straw's are simply straight elongated cylinders. Plasticstraws are mainly used, and if they are not properly disposed of, theywill become marine plastic garbage, which will affect marine pollutionand ecosystems.

In addition, since each type of beverage has its own recommended innerdiameter, it is necessary to manufacture multiple straws, each havingdifferent inner diameters. For example, a small-diameter straw is usedfor infants, while a large-diameter straw is used for beveragescontaining tapioca However, under the current straw market, there is nostraws that can be suitable for more than one type of beverage in onestraw. Therefore, a straw capable of serving multiple types of beverageswas desired by adjusting the inner diameter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problem, and toprovide an inside diameter adjustable straw flat straw including arectangular-shaped main body having front and back surfaces; a firstengagement member, which is formed on the front surface of the main bodyand which is formed in a convex shape being extended from one end of themain body to the opposite end thereof; a second engagement member, whichis formed on the back surface, which is formed in a concave shape, andwhich is formed parallel to the first engagement member: and a thirdengagement member, which is formed on the back surface, which is formedin a concave shape, and which is formed in parallel to the secondengagement member at a predetermined distance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will be more specifically described with reference to theaccounting drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective geometry net view of a straw of the presentinvention;

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the straw shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a large-diameter straw of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a small-diameter straw of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A is the perspective geometry net view showing an overall conceptaccording to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is thecross-sectional view of the straw shown in FIG 1A. A straw 100 shown inFIG. 1A and FIG. 1B includes a rectangular-shaped main body 1 havingfront and back surfaces, a first engagement member 2, which is formed onthe front surface of the main body 1 and which is formed in a convexshape being extended from one end of the main body 1 to the opposite endthereof, a second engagement member 3, which is formed on the backsurface, which is formed in a concave shape, and which is formedparallel to the first engagement member 2, and a third engagement member4, which is formed on the back surface, which is formed in a concaveshape, and which is formed parallel to the second engagement member 3 ata predetermined distance. The main body 1 and the first engagementmember are formed in an integral structure The main body 1 is made ofsilicon resin and has a thickness of about 2 mm. Like the main body 1,the first engagement member 2 is made of silicon resin. As shown in FIG.1B, the first engagement member 2 formed in a mushroom-shaped at itscross section, and the width at its tip is slightly wider than that atits bottom being connected to the main body 1. The height of the firstengagement member is set slightly lower than the thickness of the mainbody 1.

The concave shape of the second engagement member 3 is almost the sameshape as that of the first engagement member 2. Therefore, the depth ofthe concave of the second engagement member is set slightly less thanthe thickness of the main body 1. The second engagement member 3 isformed about 3.3 cm away from the first engagement member 2.

The third engagement member 4 has the same shape as the secondengagement member 3. The third engagement member 4 is formed as close tothe first engagement member 3 as 130 mm from the second engagementmember 3.

The straw 100 shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are used as follows. As shownin FIG 2A and FIG. 2B, since a large-diameter straw is required whendrinking a tapioca-containing beverage or the like, the first engagementmember 2 is inserted into the second engagement member to form acylindrical shape. At this time, since the first engagement member 2 andthe second engagement member 3 are formed in the same shape and are madeof elastic silicone resin, the first engagement member 2 is fitted intothe second engagement member 3 by pressing the first engagement member 2from the back side after the first engagement member 2 and the secondengagement member 3 are coupled. By the process mentioned above, thelarge-diameter straw with an inner diameter of 350 mm is formed.

On the other hand, since a small-diameter straw is required in the caseof use by an infant, the first engagement member 2 is inserted into thethird engagement member 4 to form a cylindrical shape. At this time, aswell as in the case of forming the large-diameter straw described above,the first engagement member 2 is fitted into the third engagement member4 by pressing the first engagement member 2 from the back side after thefirst engagement member 2 and the third engagement member 4 are coupledBy the process mentioned above, the small-diameter straw with an innerdiameter of 220 mm is formed. As described above, the straw 100 formedby the above-mentioned process can be used to carry the drink to themouth.

In the above embodiment, a main body 1 is used for the straw 100, whichcan make two different inner diameters, out by increasing the number ofconcave member, a straw with more than three different inner diameterscan be formed.

While the invention has been described with reference to illustrativeembodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in alimiting sense. Thus, shapes, size and physical relationship of eachcomponent are roughly illustrated so the scope of the invention shouldnot be construed to be limited to them. Further, to clarify thecomponents of the invention, hatching is partially omitted in thecross-sectional views. Moreover the numerical description in theembodiment described above is one of the preferred examples in thepreferred embodiment so that the scope of the invention should not beconstrued to limit to them.

Various other modifications of the illustrated embodiment will beapparent to those skilled in the art on reference to this description.Therefore, the appended claims are intended to cover any suchmodifications or embodiments as fall within the true scope of theinvention.

We claim:
 1. An inside diameter adjustable straw flat straw comprising:a rectangular-shaped main body having front and back surfaces; a firstengagement member, which is formed on the front surface of the main bodyand which is formed in a convex shape being extended from one end of themain body to the opposite end thereof; a second engagement member, whichis formed on the back surface, which is formed in a concave shape, andwhich is formed parallel to the first engagement member; and a thirdengagement member, which is formed on the back surface, which is formedin a concave shape, and which is formed parallel to the secondengagement member at a predetermined distance.
 2. A straw according toclaim 1, wherein the main body and the first engaging portion are madeof a silicone resin.
 3. A straw according to claim 2, wherein the mainbody and the first engaging portion are formed in an integral structure.4. A straw according to claim 1, wherein the first engagement memberformed in a mushroom shape at its cross section.
 5. A straw according toclaim 2, wherein the first engagement member formed in a mushroom shapeat its cross section.
 6. A straw according to claim 2, wherein the firstengagement member formed in a mushroom shape at its cross section.
 7. Astraw according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of thefirst engagement member, is the same as that of the second engagementmember, and the third engagement member, respectively.
 8. A strawaccording to claim 2, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the firstengagement member, is the same as that of the second engagement member,and the third engagement member, respectively.
 9. A straw according toclaim 3, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the first engagementmember, is the same as that of the second engagement member, and thethird engagement member, respectively.
 10. A straw according to claim 4,wherein the cross-sectional shape of the first engagement member, is thesame as that of the second engagement member, and the third engagementmember, respectively.
 11. A straw according to claim 5, wherein thecross-sectional shape of the first engagement member, is the same asthat of the second engagement member, and the third engagement member,respectively.
 12. A straw according to claim 6, wherein thecross-sectional shape of the first engagement member, is the same asthat of the second engagement member, and the third engagement member,respectively.